Bible: Judges 17-21

Micah Makes His Own Religion

17:1There wasa mannamedMicahfrom the Ephraimitehill country.17:2He saidto his mother, “You know1 the eleven hundredpieces of silverwhichwere stolen2from you, about which I heardyou pronouncea curse? Lookhere, I have the silver. Istole3it, but now I am giving it back to you.”4 His mothersaid, “May the Lordreward5you, my son!”17:3When he gave backto his mothertheeleven hundredpieces of silver, his mothersaid, “I solemnly dedicate6this silverto the Lord. It will be for my son’sbenefit. We will use it to makea carved imageand a metal image.”717:4When he gave the silverbackto his mother, she8tooktwo hundredpieces of silver9to a silversmith, who madethem into a carvedimageand a metal image. She then put them in Micah’shouse.1017:5Now this manMicahowned a shrine.11He madean ephod12and some personal idolsand hiredoneof his sonsto serve asa priest.1317:6In thosedaysIsraelhad noking. Each mandidwhat he considered to be right.14

18:7Sothe fivemenjourneyed on38 and arrivedin Laish. They noticedthat thepeoplethere39 were livingsecurely, like the Sidoniansdo,40 undisturbedand unsuspecting. Noconquerorwas troublingthem in any way.41 They lived farfrom the Sidoniansand hadnodealingswithanyone.4218:8When the Danites returnedtotheir tribe43in Zorahand Eshtaol, their kinsmen44askedthem, “Howdid it go?”4518:9They said, “Come on, let’s attackthem,46 for47we sawtheir landand it is verygood. Youseem lethargic,48but don’thesitate49to invadeand conquer50the land.18:10When you invade,51you will encounter52unsuspectingpeople. The landis wide!53 Godis handingit over to you – a place that lacks nothing on earth!”54

18:21They turnedand wenton their way, but they walkedbehind the children, the cattle, and their possessions.7018:22After theyhad gone a good distancefrom Micah’shouse, Micah’sneighbors71 gathered togetherand caughtup with the Danites.18:23Whenthey calledouttothe Danites, the Danites72turnedaround and saidto Micah, “Whyhave you gatheredtogether?”18:24He said, “You stolemy godsthatI made, as well as this priest, and then wentaway. Whatdo I have left? Howcan you havethe audacityto saytome, ‘Whatdo you want?’”7318:25The Danitessaidtohim, “Don’tsay another wordtous, orsome very angrymen74will attackyou, and you and your familywill die.”7518:26The Daniteswenton their way; whenMicahrealized76they weretoo strongto resist,77he turnedaround and wenthome.

18:27Now theDanites78 tookwhat Micahhadmade, as well as his priest, and cameto Laish, where the peoplewere undisturbedand unsuspecting. They struckthem down with the swordand burnedthe city.7918:28No onecame to the rescuebecausethe city80 was farfrom Sidon81and they had nodealingswithanyone.82The city83 wasin a valleynear Beth Rehob. The Danites84 rebuiltthe cityand occupiedit.18:29They namedit Danafter their ancestor, whowas one of Israel’ssons.85Butthe city’snameused to be Laish.18:30TheDanitesworshiped86the carved image. Jonathan, descendant87of Gershom, sonof Moses,88and his descendants89servedas priestsfor the tribeof Danuntilthe timeof the exile.18:31They worshiped90Micah’scarvedimage91the wholetimeGod’sauthorizedshrine92was in Shiloh.

Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited

19:1In thosedaysIsraelhad noking. There wasa Levite93living temporarilyin the remoteregion of the Ephraimitehill country. He acquireda concubine94from Bethlehem95in Judah.19:2However, she96got angryat him97 and went home98toher father’shousein Bethlehemin Judah. Whenshe had been therefourmonths,19:3herhusbandcame99afterher, hopinghe could convinceher to return.100He brought with himhis servant101and a pairof donkeys. When she broughthim into her father’shouseand the girl’sfathersawhim, he greetedhim warmly.10219:4His father-in-law, the girl’sfather, persuadedhim to staywithhim for threedays, and they ateand dranktogether, and spentthe night there.19:5Onthe fourthdaythey woke up earlyand the Levite gotready to leave.103But the girl’sfathersaidtohis son-in-law, “Havea biteto eatfor some energy,104 thenyou cango.”19:6So the twoof them sat downand had a mealtogether.105Then the girl’sfathersaidtothe man, “Why notstay another nightand have a goodtime!”10619:7When the mangotready to leave,107his father-in-lawconvincedhim to stayanother night.10819:8He woke up earlyin the morningon the fifthdaysohe couldleave, butthe girl’sfathersaid, “Get some energy.109Waituntillaterin the dayto leave!”110 Sothey atea meal together.19:9When the mangotready to leave111with his concubineand his servant,112his father-in-law, the girl’sfather, saidto him, “Look! The dayis almostover!113 Stayanother night! Sincethe dayis over,114 stayanother night hereand have a goodtime. You canget up earlytomorrowand startyour triphome.”11519:10But the mandid notwantto stayanother night. He left116and traveledas far as117Jebus(thatis, Jerusalem).118 He hadwithhim a pairof saddleddonkeysand his concubine.119

19:11When theygot nearJebus, it was gettingquitelate120and the servant121saidtohis master, “Come on, let’sstopat122 thisJebusitecityand spendthe night in it.”19:12But his mastersaidto him, “We should notstopata foreigncitywherenon-Israeliteslive.123 We will travelon toGibeah.”19:13He saidto his servant,124 “Comeon, we will gointo oneof the othertowns125 and spend the nightin GibeahorRamah.”19:14So they traveledon,126and the sunwent downwhen they were nearGibeahin the territory of Benjamin.12719:15They stoppedthereand decidedto spendthe night128 in Gibeah. They cameinto the cityand sat downin the town square, but nooneinvitedthem to spendthe night.129

19:16But then an oldmanpassed by, returningat the end of the day fromhis workin the field.130The manwas from the Ephraimitehill country; hewas living temporarilyin Gibeah. (The residentsof the townwere Benjaminites.)13119:17When he looked upand sawthe traveler132in the townsquare, the oldmansaid, “Whereare you heading? Wheredo you come from?”19:18The Levite133 saidtohim, “Weare travelingfrom Bethlehem134in Judahto the remote regionof the Ephraimitehill country. That’s where I’mfrom. I had business in Bethlehemin Judah, but now I’mheadinghome.135But noonehas invitedme into their home.19:19We haveenoughstrawand grainfor our donkeys, and there isenoughfoodand winefor me, your female servant,136and the young manwho is withyour servants.137We lacknothing.”19:20The oldmansaid, “Everythingis justfine!138 I will take careof allyour needs. Butdon’tspendthe night in the town square.”19:21So he broughthim to his houseand fedthe donkeys. They washedtheir feetand had a meal.139

19:22Theywere having a goodtime,140 when suddenly141some menof the city, some good-for-nothings,142surroundedthehouseand kept beating143onthe door. They saidtothe oldmanwho ownedthe house, “Send outthemanwhocameto visityou so we can have sexwith him.”14419:23The manwho ownedthe housewentoutside and saidtothem, “No, my brothers! Don’tdo this wickedthing! Afterall, thismanis a guest in my house. Don’tdosuch a disgraceful thing!19:24Hereare my virgindaughterand my guest’s145 concubine. I will sendthem outand you can abusethem and doto them whatever you like.146But don’tdosuch a disgracefulthingto thisman!”19:25The menrefusedto listento him, so the Levite147grabbedhis concubineand made her gooutside.148They raped149her and abusedher allnightlong untilmorning. They lether goat dawn.19:26The womanarrivedback at daybreakand was sprawledout onthe doorstepof the housewhereher master150was stayinguntilit became light.15119:27When her master152gotup in the morning, openedthe doorsof the house, and wentoutside to start onhis journey, therewas the woman, his concubine, sprawledout onthe doorstepof the housewith her handsonthe threshold.19:28He saidto her, “Getup, let’sleave!” But there was noresponse. He put heronthe donkeyandwenthome.15319:29When he gothome, he tooka knife, grabbedhis concubine, and carvedher upinto twelvepieces.154Then he sentthe pieces throughoutIsrael.15519:30Everyonewho sawthe sight156 said, “Nothinglike this has happened orbeen witnessedduringthe entiretimesince157the Israelitesleft the landof Egypt!158 Take careful note of it! Discussit and speak!”

20:8AllIsraelroseup in unison174and said, “Notone of us will gohome!175 Notoneof us will return176to his house!20:9Nowthisis whatwe will doto Gibeah: We will attackthe city as the lotdictates.17720:10We will taketenof every group of a hundredmenfrom allthe tribesof Israel(and a hundredof every group of a thousand, and a thousandof every group of ten thousand) to getsuppliesfor the army.178When they arrivein Gibeahof Benjaminthey will punish them for the atrocitywhichthey committedin Israel.”17920:11So allthe menof Israelgathered togetheratthe cityas allies.180

20:29So Israelhidmen in ambushoutsideGibeah.20:30The Israelitesattackedthe Benjaminitesthe next day;215they took their positionsagainst Gibeahjust asthey had done before.20:31The Benjaminitesattacked216the army, leavingthe cityunguarded.217They beganto strikedown their enemy218just asthey had done before. On the main roads(oneleadsto Bethel,219the otherto Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down220 about thirtyIsraelites.20:32Then the Benjaminitessaid, “They are defeatedjust as before.” Butthe Israelitessaid, “Let’s retreat221and lurethem222 away fromthe cityintothe main roads.”20:33223Allthe menof Israelgot upfrom their placesand took their positionsat Baal Tamar, while the Israeliteshiding in ambushjumped outof their placeswest of Gibeah.20:34Tenthousandmen, well-trainedsoldiers from allIsrael, thenmade a frontalassaultagainst Gibeah– the battlewas fierce.224But the Benjaminites did notrealizethatdisasterwas at their doorstep.22520:35The LordannihilatedBenjaminbeforeIsrael; the Israelitesstruck downthat day25,100sword-wieldingBenjaminites.22620:36Then the Benjaminitessawthey were defeated.

The Israelitesretreated before227 Benjamin, becausethey had confidencein the men they hadhidin ambushoutside Gibeah.20:37The men hiding in ambushmade a maddash228toGibeah. They229attacked230and put the swordto the entirecity.20:38The Israelitesand the menhiding in ambushhad arrangeda signal. When the men hiding in ambush231 sent upa smokesignalfromthe city,20:39the Israelitescounterattacked.232Benjaminhad begunto strikedown the Israelites;233they struckdown234 about thirtymen. They said, “There’s no doubtabout it! They are totally defeatedas in the earlierbattle.”20:40But when the signal, a pillarof smoke, beganto rise upfromthe city, the Benjaminitesturnedaroundand sawthe wholecitygoing upin a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky.23520:41When the Israelitesturned around, the Benjaminitespanicked236becausethey could seethatdisasterwas ontheir doorstep.23720:42They retreatedbeforethe Israelites, taking the roadto the wilderness. But the battleovertook238them asmenfromthe surrounding citiesstruckthem down.23920:43They surroundedthe Benjaminites, chasedthem from Nohah,240and annihilated241them all the way toa spot eastof Geba.24220:44EighteenthousandBenjaminites, allof them capable warriors, felldead.20:45The rest243 turnedand rantoward the wilderness, heading towardthe cliffof Rimmon. But the Israelites244 caught245fivethousandof themon the main roads. They stayed right on their heels246all the wayto Gidomand struck downtwo thousandmore.20:46That daytwenty-fivethousand247sword-wieldingBenjaminitesfellin battle, allof them capablewarriors.24820:47Sixhundredsurvivorsturnedand ran awayto the wilderness, tothe cliffof Rimmon. They stayedthere fourmonths.20:48The Israelitesreturnedtothe Benjaminitetowns249and putthe swordto them. They wiped outthe cities,250 the animals, and everythingthey could find. They setfireto everycityin their path.251

21:4The nextmorning the peoplegot up earlyand builtan altarthere. They offeredup burnt sacrificesand token of peace.25521:5The Israelitesasked, “Whofrom allthe Israelitetribeshasnotassembledbefore the Lord?” They hadmade a solemnoath that whoeverdid notassemblebefore the Lordat Mizpahmustcertainly be executed.25621:6The Israelitesregrettedwhat had happened to257 their brotherBenjamin. They said, “Todaywe cut offan entire258tribefrom Israel!21:7Howcan we find wivesfor those who are left?259 After all, wetook an oathin the Lord’sname notto givethem our daughtersas wives.”21:8So they asked, “Whofrom allthe Israelitetribesdid notassemblebefore the Lordat Mizpah?” Nowit just so happened noonefrom JabeshGileadhad cometothe gathering.26021:9Whenthey took rollcall,261 they noticed262noneof the inhabitantsof JabeshGileadwerethere.21:10Sothe assemblysent12,000capablewarriors263against Jabesh Gilead.264 They commandedthem, “Goand killwith your swords265the inhabitantsof JabeshGilead, includingthe womenand little children.21:11Dothis:266 exterminateeverymale, as well aseverywomanwho has had sexual relationswith a male.267But spare the lives of any virgins.” So they did as instructed.26821:12They foundamong the inhabitantsof JabeshGileadfourhundredyoung girlswho were virgins– they hadneverhad sexual relationswith a male.269They broughtthem back tothe campat Shilohin the landof Canaan.

21:13The entireassemblysentmessengerstothe Benjaminitesat the cliffof Rimmonand assuredthem they would not be harmed.27021:14The Benjaminitesreturnedat that time, and the Israelites271 gaveto them the womenthey hadsparedfrom JabeshGilead. But there werenotenoughto go around.272

21:23The Benjaminitesdidas instructed.290They abductedtwo hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives.291They wenthome292totheir own territory,293rebuilttheir cities, and settleddown.29421:24Thenthe Israelitesdispersedfrom thereto their respectivetribaland clanterritories. Eachwentfrom thereto his ownproperty.29521:25In thosedaysIsraelhad noking. Each mandidwhat he considered to be right.296